Four dacoits and a Mumbai-based jeweller were arrested in connection with the looting of 41.8 kg of gold from Muthoot Finance Company’s Ramachandrapuram branch on December 28. The dacoits had posed as CBI officials while the jeweller reportedly purchased the stolen gold from them at half the market price.
The four-member gang consisted of Laskhman Narayan Mudhang, Ganesh Pandurang Bhonsle alias Patil, Subhash Pujari Pandey and Vijay Kumar from various States. Kumar Pal Trilokchand Shah, the jeweller, was based in Mumbai. Hunt was on for five more culprits.
Cyberabad Police Commissioner Sandeep Shandilya told a press conference that while Lakshman and Patil were arrested when they came to take back the Scorpio vehicle used in the crime, Shah and Subhash were picked up when they met over payment of Rs.5 lakh to the latter in Mumbai. After arresting the five, the police also recovered 3.5 kg of gold. “They had meticulously planned the whole crime. Vijay Kumar and another person piloted the Scorpio from the front after the gang members committed the crime on December 28. Thanks to eyewitnesses, a near accurate portrait of Subhah was made, which he saw in TV a day later and panicked. The group split after that,” said Mr. Shandilya. He said the Scorpio reached Halakatta in Karnataka, then Nasik and, finally, Mumbai. “Some of them are linked to the Chota Rajan gang. A few of those who participated in the crime are yet to be caught,” he added. The same gang had previously stolen about 16 kg of gold jewellery and Rs.4 lakh from the the Muthoot Mini branches at Ramachandrapuram and Gulbarga in the last two years. “The gang is technically very sound in committing offences. We called people from Mahindra to check the Scorpio it used and found that the chassis number from all eight places in the car was changed. They were all professional in the work though they did not know each other directly,” said the commissioner. He added that Patil was an experienced driver and used to bootleg liquor. “The car reached Halakatta in just two and a half hours. Yesterday, we shared all our information with the Bombay police. After arresting Shah, we have gathered his online cash transfer details and other receipts and also found out where the gold is,” he added. The gold was melted by Roshan Yadav and made into gold sticks with the help of a machine.
